The armor, to which the presently disclosed subject matter refers, is often used inter alia for neutralizing the triggering mechanism of weapons, such as for example a rocket propelled grenade (RPG), known to be a shoulder-fired, anti-tank weapon commonly used against vehicles, which typically fires rockets equipped with an explosive warhead.
FIG. 1 is illustrates one example of an RPG warhead 10 having a conductive cone 12 encased in an aerodynamic cover 13. An electric trigger 11, which can be for example a piezoelectric fuze, is mounted at the top of aerodynamic c cover 13 and is coupled to the edge of the conductive cone 12. The warhead 10 further includes a body 16 filled with explosive 17 and a conductor 18, electrically coupled to conductive cone 12. Body 16 includes a conical liner 14 which is configured to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. The rocket 10 is propelled using a motor located in the tail section 19 thereof.
When the warhead 10 hits the target, the trigger 11 actuates an electric signal, which is transmitted through conductive cone 12 to conductor 18, which in return sets off the explosives 17. The explosive is then urged through an aperture in the conical liner toward the target.
Slat armor is known to typically include a rigid grid deployed around the vehicle, which can naturalize the warhead, either by deforming the conical liner, or by short-circuiting the fuzing mechanism of the warhead. The slat armor is in the form of a rigid grid disposed in a predetermined distance from the vehicle, so as to allow the armor to come in contact with the cover of the RPG in order to neutralize it before the trigger hits the vehicle's body. The distance between the grid and the body of the vehicle is known as the standoff.
The slat armor can include a flexible mesh having rigid elements spaced from one another in such a way as not to allow an RPG warhead to hit the mesh without contacting at least one rigid element. Thus, the rigid element neutralizes the devastating effect of the warhead by deforming the conical liner and/or by short-circuiting the fuzing mechanism.